An unemployed man who tried to sell a computer disc that used to belong to the best mate of F1 star Lewis Hamilton has been arrested in Germany.
The man known only as "Dieter" faces blackmail charges after trying to flog a hard disc that was used by Force India F1 driver Adrian Sutil to a German motorsport magazine Bild …

eh!

am i wrong here. but if someone throws a pc away and i go ooo a pc and happen to find data on it im not commiting "data theft" just like if i found a letter on the street and went "whats this?" and it turned out to be gordon browns credt card statement. also since when is selling something to a 3rd party black mail unless you try and extort something from the origional owner? and also an honest editor? whats the world coming too! i bet the star would have bought it!

Data Protection Act?

I'm pretty sure selling on somone else's data, and advertising it as such, IS covered under the data protection act (If i'm worng, i'd be happy to be corrected). It doesn't matter who you sell it too, your still 'knowingly' seling on somone elses data too a third party.

The Editor who tipped off the police will get a story out of this anyway, and by taking the less scandelous option, may come out of this looking like he's got some journalistic integrity. Win-Win for him realy.

Dieter?!

@Surely

I'm probably being cynical and skeptical but it's about page hits, adverts and the like - just like ITV.

If the title said "Sutil and friend targetted in blackmain plot" I probably wouldn't have known who he was, not cared... and left it at that. The Lewis angle will make people read it. Still... "and friend" is a bit cruel.

journalistic integrity

Crime?

I don't see a crime here. The disk was bought legally not stolen. The information was on the disk, due to an incomplete wipe. The accused offered the disk to the Editor of a magazine in return for cash, doesn't sound too different from the Paps. No attempt to extort anything from Sutil or Hamilton, so its not blackmail. No theft. No crime.

Of course IAMAL but I would expect a lawyer to have a field day with this.

Why all the Hamilton Hate?

I don't understand this, why are so many people so vitriolic in their dislike of Hamilton? It's not his fault the media have made a huge circus of the fact he's the first black man to drive in F1, and like it or not he is a very very good driver, if still a little green around the gills. Schumacher was no different when he started, the raw talent was obviously there but just needed a couple of years to properly bed into F1.

Don't hate the man, hate the media for the ridiculously disproportionate hype they have built up..